The Master's Master
by Threnody2
Summary: Qui-Gon's Master, Syriak Aladan, thinks about Qui-Gon, the Force, and teenagers. R&R. My 1st Star Wars fic!


Master Syriak Aladan watched her young Padawan meditate cross-legged on the grass in the fountain room of the Jedi Temple __

Just as you thought Qui-Gon's Master was another British man with a beard…

My first Star Wars fic. Constructive criticism welcomed 8^)

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Disclaimer: If I owned Star Wars, you'd know about it.

It's a load of talking, no real plot.

I suppose there's stuff taken from Jedi Apprentice…

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The Master's Master

by Threnody

Master Syriak Aladan watched her young Padawan meditate cross-legged on the grass in the fountain room of the Jedi Temple. His bright blue eyes were closed, his brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and his face was calm and relaxed.

Syriak was trying to work out whether he was attractive. To her, all humans looked, if not completely ugly, very strange with their snubbed noses and the odd fur that grew on their heads.

Syriak herself looked (in Earth terms) like a green horse with smooth skin instead of fur, webbed toes instead of hooves, a large webbed tail, blue, pupil-less eyes and a large webbed crest in place of a mane. The crest and the ears were used for expressing emotions. Syriak thought it hilarious the way humans did it- screwing up their faces and waving their hands around.

Syriak found humans fascinating all over in fact- being an aquatic creature herself, she understood the constant need for water, but they died if they had too little and died if they had too much. They had no natural means of protection- no armour, low intelligence, no flight, few water skills and to top it all, they were lousy runners. Syriak had lived for centuries, longer than Master Yoda, and had never seen the point in humans. But they were everywhere; they had somehow survived, and Syriak couldn't for the love of the Force think how.

But of all the many humans she had known, Syriak's apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn, was probably her favourite. They had become good friends over the time they had been together, and their Master/Padawan bond was one of the strongest she'd ever experienced.

It usually saddened Syriak that she would, most likely, outlive her Padawan- she had every time- but the Force had told her a lot about Qui-Gon's future, and she did not feature in it. She had no idea how long her species lived- she remembered some dying, but age was not important to them. Their society had no prejudices against race, gender, religion, anything. They were probably extinct now.

The reason she had been wondering whether Qui-Gon was attractive to other humans was that she was getting some definite… what did the initiates call it at the moment? … _vibes_ towards Qui-Gon from one of his friends, Tahl.

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Teenagers. Syriak's crest cocked to one side- the equivalent of rolling her eyes. Qui-Gon opened his, and gave a 'what did I do this time?' look. He had long since learned to read Syriak's physical expressions along with the ones she chose not to show. Unlike a lot of the other Masters and Knights, Syriak did show what she was feeling under normal situations. She was rarely angry, but when it did happen, it was marked by both her crest and her ears going down stiff and flat against her head.

"What is your relationship with Tahl?" Syriak's watery, bubbling voice sounded to the untrained ear like gibberish, but not if you listened properly. Talking to people who did not know her, she would use the Force to make them understand. Her own species used clicks, whistles, crest movements, water vibrations and a strange sort of sonar to communicate- it was a lot more efficient, and sounded nicer, like music.

"We're friends." Qui-Gon obviously understood the question and did not pretend otherwise. Syriak was pleased.

"Do you find her attractive?" Syriak was always direct.

"… I suppose…" Qui-Gon looked embarrassed, an unusual occurrence. 

"Do you wish to take your relationship to a more physical level?" Syriak reminded herself of how humanoid teenagers were so… unsure of themselves.

"What?" Qui-Gon looked suddenly scared.

Syriak flopped her crest slightly, a sigh. Perhaps even more direct. "Do you wish to have sex with her?"

Qui-Gon's face was completely panicked. "N-no! I didn't say that!"

Syriak's head went back and her crest raised and started giving small flaps from side to side- laughter.

Qui-Gon looked annoyed, which made Syriak laugh even harder. It was probably that he said 'say' instead of 'think'…

"Padawan, if you are going to lie, lie well," said Syriak, her crest still raised in a smile.

Qui-Gon gave a sheepish grin back, grateful that he did not have a Master that would take the offence of a Padawan shading the truth from a Master as a major crime.

"Consider yourself remonstrated for breaking the (written) Jedi Code: broach of the Master/Padawan bond of complete trust and honesty, Section 3a Chapter 5 Paragraph 2," Syriak continued, as if suddenly remembering she should. Qui-Gon was unsure if she was physically able to give her voice a sarcastic tone, but he could feel it was there.

The signal sounded for lunch in the food hall and they left, Qui-Gon hoping Tahl would not see and greet him in front of Syriak, and Syriak hoping that the relationship would not lead to another… incident. Circa 230 years back, boy Padawan twi'lek meets girl Padawan twi'lek resulting in baby twi'lek and disgraced Padawan twi'leks (Syriak secretly loved looking after her 'grandson', but that was a secret never to be told…)

Qui-Gon hurried to sit with his friends (carefully placing himself the opposite side of the table than Tahl).

"Doing well, he is." Master Yoda appeared suddenly beside Syriak.

"Yes."

"A great Jedi he will become."

"Yes."

"Strange things, I have seen in his future."

"Yes."

Syriak had not taken her eyes off Qui-Gon as he chatted with the other Padawans currently at the Temple.

There was a pause.

"All good things, they are not." Yoda said, cautiously. He respected Master Syriak; she had taught him so much.

"Builds character." Yoda felt the sarcasm in her words.

"Indeed." Yoda swiped a muja fruit from a passing tray with his stick, and started munching thoughtfully.

Although Syriak knew she would not survive for all of Qui-Gon's journey, she vowed to be with him in the most interesting parts.

END


End file.
